ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Strong Hospital celebrated the 25th anniversary of its Heart Transplant Center, which opened on Feb. 7, 2001. It remains the only heart transplant center in upstate New York. News10NBC’s Erin Mahon spoke with the second patient to undergo a transplant at the center and the family of the first transplant recipient.
The center marked the occasion with cake and balloons. Dr. Leway Chen, Director of Advanced Heart Failure, said, “We started with one cardiologist, one surgeon, and one nurse practitioner.” Chen has been with the center since its inception and has seen it grow from a staff of three to 70.
“It’s a mixture of you want to do whatever you can to help people, not to need our services, but we’re also very thankful that we can be here,” said Chen.
Heather Fields attended the celebration to honor her father, David Beatson, the first heart transplant patient at the center. Fields said doctors initially referred her father to the Cleveland Clinic, but it was not financially feasible for her family. “So our family was praying for a miracle, and Strong opened up their program and we became the first,” Fields said. Her father lived for another 10 years, which Fields said meant 10 more cherished Christmases with her family, a move down to Florida to enjoy the sun, and getting to meet his first grandson.
Thomas Conroy, the third person to receive a heart transplant at the center, was born with a congenital heart condition and had his first surgery at 18 months. At 19, his condition worsened. “I would just get constantly sick, going back to classes and college and it just became very hard,” Conroy said.
Conroy waited two and a half years for a heart. “All the emotions because it was like ‘oh I’m not sick enough, but I’m too sick to try to go to school and do the everyday functions,’” he said. He watched as his college friends engaged in the things he wanted to join in, while he struggled to commute to the hospital from Buffalo for appointments.
Conroy received a heart at 22, met his wife a year later, and now they have two boys who stay heart healthy. “They’re very active. They both play sports and they play hockey and so they stay active,” Conroy said.
Dr. Chen said the center has performed nearly 400 heart transplants over the last 25 years. While he wishes for healthy hearts for everyone, there is still a significant need. Currently, more than 500 people are waiting for an organ transplant at the hospital.
Anyone 16 and older can enroll in the New York State Donate Life Registry. There are multiple ways to enroll including:
- Online here.
- at the Department of Motor Vehicles
- registering to vote
- UR Medicine’s MyChart patient portal
The post Heartfelt memories: Strong Hospital’s first heart transplant patients and family members reflect on 25 years of the center appeared first on WHEC.com.
